Born to Die: Female Infanticide in Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

Consequent upon the publication of the 1991 census preliminary results, one of the widely debated issues in India has been the declining sex ratio (defined as the number of females per 1000 males) in the country. The 1991 census recorded a sex ratio of 927 females per 1000 males compared to 934 in 1981.

It is observed that the sex ratio in the population aged 7 and above declined from 929 in 1981 to 923 in 1991. Similarly, the sex ratio in the population aged 0-6 declined from -962 in 1981 to 945 female per 1000 males in 1991. In the first instance, the lower sex ratio reflects that women suffered from neglect in the past and probably continue to do so even now. A fall of 17 points in the child sex ratio over a decade, however, is very substantial and a matter of serious concerns which needs explanation.